John Mayer - Continuum Vinyl 2LP

Columbia Records

$ 3398

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John Mayer Continuum Vinyl 2LP

Continuum is about as apt a title as it gets for John Mayer's third studio disc. Every element, from the peerless guitar playing to the plainspoken poetry of the lyrics to the breathy-sincere singing, makes a return from previous efforts. But to weakly pronounce this another worthwhile effort from an artist the world has come to expect a whole lot from and then call it a day would be no minor misdeed, because it's also the best, boldest disc he's ever made.

Taking maturity as a theme throughout, Mayer tackles a batch of adulthood's bogeymen: indifference on the uptempo chart-climber 'Waiting for the World to Change,' aging on the melancholy-sweet 'Stop This Train,' and emotional trainwreckage on the big-rocking 'In Repair.' That's not to suggest he's turned overly introspective--check the Jimi Hendrix cover 'Bold As Love,' where he hits one home for guitarists who've been living in the shadow of legend everywhere, and the hard-charging 'Belief,' which benefits from a mesmerizing, liquid groove.

Continuum may be the third in a series, but a creative cop-out this is not; Mayer is his generation's musical superman--powerful, unassailable, and magnetic. Hand that man a cape.

1. Waiting On The World To Change 2. I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You) 3. Belief 4. Gravity 5. The Heart Of Life 6. Vultures 7. Stop This Train 8. Slow Dancing In A Burning Room 9. Bold As Love 10. Dreaming With A Broken Heart 11. In Repair 12. I'm Gonna Find Another You